The consumer protection law schedules a right of associations to initiate legal proceedings which is regulated in the Act on Injunctive Relief (UKlaG). Since individual applications are mostly insufficient in the enforcement of consumer protection, the UKlaG has been created to guarantee better consumer protection. Here you can find an example for an association action in the context of the UKlaG. Moreover, a lawsuit pursuant to § 1 UKlaG, is possible if terms and conditions violate the AGG. This is the case if terms and conditions exclude rights that are provided in the AGG. So long as associations want to sue, consultation and the support of consumers must be part of their aims. 

Subject and aim of the lawsuit: 

If terms and conditions prevent the protection of consumers, associations can safeguard their interests. Omission, as well as revocation can be claimed, according to § 1 UKlaG. The UKlaG does not only protect the law of terms and conditions, but also aims for the compliance of consumer protection legislation (cf. § 2 II Nr. 1 UKlaG). 

Preconditions of the proceeding: 

The lawsuit needs to be submitted at the particular district court where the defendant lives or has his/her commercial branch (cf. § 6 I UKlaG). Associations initially strive for pre-trial measures, mostly by sending a warning before the commencement of action. This is not a duty but can be advantageous. If the warning is ignored and the opposing party confesses his/her liability during trial, the complaining party has to bear all court costs (cf. § 93 ZPO), since the hearing was not necessary if a previous warning would have been sent. 

Entitled associations: 

Associations can sue for an injunction or a revocation if invalid terms and conditions are being used in cases of invalid individual complaints or unlawful consumer protection business practices. Entitled departments are, according to § 3 I UKlaG, qualified public institutions, judicable associations which promote industrial or independent interests or chambers of industry and commerce. Qualified institutions are specified in § 4 UKlaG. They can only be acknowledged as an authority to sue on application. The registration takes place if all preconditions which are mentioned in § 4 UklaG are fulfilled: only associations with legal capacity that pursue the aim of safeguarding interests of consumers through non-commercial information and consultation are registrable. Furthermore, they must have at least 75 members or comprise of at least three associations which are active in the same task fields and have existed for at least a year. They also need to ensure a proper task fulfilment.